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Better off as a plumber?
- Thread starter nitro
- Start date
Quote from i_c_fed_people:
what do you mean.
How about buying their own jet.
There's millions of things that a billionaire can do that an 81ker cant.
However, if you're saying that most would be as content/happy with a 'well paid' job as they would with billions in the bank, then i'd probably agree...
Billionaire: Spend $100M buying his own private jet/maintenance fees and all. Hire a pilot, etc. OMG! Gas prices soared! I think I will fly less this year. OMG! I have to build a landing strip to that remote mansion I have! (Oh, the headaches!)
You: Buy a business class ticket for $5-$10K. Fly when you want, where you want.
The differences? Pricesless!
You're better off spiritually, financially, and live a far better life on a "middle class" investment income than some "poor" schmuck billionaire.
Quote from stockstalkerv3:
Billionaire: Spend $100M buying his own private jet/maintenance fees and all. Hire a pilot, etc. OMG! Gas prices soared! I think I will fly less this year. OMG! I have to build a landing strip to that remote mansion I have! (Oh, the headaches!)
You: Buy a business class ticket for $5-$10K. Fly when you want, where you want.
The differences? Pricesless!
You're better off spiritually, financially, and live a far better life on a "middle class" investment income than some "poor" schmuck billionaire.
I thought you travelled like a billionnaire with 3k a week only ? there is much more with your flight ticket only, especialy if you travel with the family. This thread is turning into a joke, but coming from a very modest background and having climbed a few steps, I'll confirm that life with money is much nicer than without. Business class is better than coach and not as good as First. I would love to be able to afford a private jet to travel even more isolated. Spending much more than you mentionned when travelling i still have to cut costs abt everywhere as comfort and good service don't come cheap and I have a limited budget - although much higher than yours apparently.
3 million house sounds like the apartment I rent (prolly a little more with the various extra fees at today's USD exchange rate). It still sucks, and looks more or less like a shithole compared to what's available in the market.
Seriously, one can feed on their own excrement and convince themselves it's tasty as it's cheap, but there are better meals out there if one can afford the price tag.
Quote from luisHK:
I thought you travelled like a billionnaire with 3k a week only ? there is much more with your flight ticket only, especialy if you travel with the family. This thread is turning into a joke, but coming from a very modest background and having climbed a few steps, I'll confirm that life with money is much nicer than without. Business class is better than coach and not as good as First. I would love to be able to afford a private jet to travel even more isolated. Spending much more than you mentionned when travelling i still have to cut costs abt everywhere as comfort and good service don't come cheap.
3 million house sounds like the apartment I rent (prolly a little more with the various extra fees at today's USD exchange rate). It still sucks, and looks more or less like a shithole compared to what's available in the market.
Seriously, one can feed on their own excrement and convince themselves it's tasty as it's cheap, but there are better meals out there if one can afford the price tag.
Sounds like you haven't made the circle of "elite" yet. Oh, and I almost forgot, one very important distinction between a billionaire and Joe middle class:
All billionaires travel with a bunch of armed body guards wherever they go. They all fear for their lives. Look at Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, reknown politicians etc. Like prisoners and convicts, all drag their iron ball and chains (body guards) wherever they go. Not just them, but their children and family members too.
For the rich and famous, life becomes too "risky" without. You never know if someone might abduct your child for a few million dollars, or threaten your life for a few million.
That is the price one pays to be rich -- one surrenders ones "freedom" to a bunch of zeros in one's bank account. Can't be let alone. Always have to have one's back "watched".
Stockwalker does have a point, but he is overstating it.
In many areas of the country one can still live a very nice, comfortable life on a fairly low income. I do not think anyone disagrees with this, yet perhaps those who have lived in urban areas or wealthy bedroom communities are less aware of this and hence some of the disagreement is based on where one finds oneself.
One huge variable is public school quality. If they are good in your area (and good students make good schools) you have significantly less need for income. Who lives in your community has a huge impact on your quality of life.
Most good families who live in cities would never dream of sending kids to public schools because they are basically day-long prison camps.
Rural-small town America without the urban demographic problems still have good public schools, which is a huge benefit for middle class and upper middle class income families.
In conclusion the quality of life you can have with a certain income is entirely dependent upon where you live,who you live around, and how you value material items/status seeking. In many areas 80K will get someone a nice lifestyle and allot of personal freedom.
In many areas of the country one can still live a very nice, comfortable life on a fairly low income. I do not think anyone disagrees with this, yet perhaps those who have lived in urban areas or wealthy bedroom communities are less aware of this and hence some of the disagreement is based on where one finds oneself.
One huge variable is public school quality. If they are good in your area (and good students make good schools) you have significantly less need for income. Who lives in your community has a huge impact on your quality of life.
Most good families who live in cities would never dream of sending kids to public schools because they are basically day-long prison camps.
Rural-small town America without the urban demographic problems still have good public schools, which is a huge benefit for middle class and upper middle class income families.
In conclusion the quality of life you can have with a certain income is entirely dependent upon where you live,who you live around, and how you value material items/status seeking. In many areas 80K will get someone a nice lifestyle and allot of personal freedom.
Once again you have a point yet you are overstating it.
You can't judge the downside of being ultra- wealthy by examining the hassles of a few of the worlds richest people who are also celebrities. Most of the super wealthy in the USA have minimal security needs and no armed guards.
The wealthy who stay wealthy do things like:
-not directly owning property
-no home mail delivery or listed address(es), little or no public profile
-socialize with your own circle (the schools kids go to, places you own seasonal homes)
It is easy to think the wealthy are either the person in the subdivision with a Mercedes and the biggest house or "the celebrity billionaire/publicity whore" Both are not accurate.
Life is flat out better for the wealthy who know how to live right. If you understand the greatest luxury is often privacy, the beauty of living in the most perfect climate during any/every season you choose to, well this is how many of the truly wealthy live.
Objectively speaking, eating corn flakes and rushing off to a cubicle job in a tin box car is just not as good as eating a bowl of fresh fruit salad, eating fresh home baked breads, freshly squeezed orange juice, on an outdoor patio overlooking a glorious sunrise and the most beautiful ocean you can imagine, then going for a pleasant jog on a private beach.
And if you want to go Skiing next weekend or tomorrow, or check in on business interests or investments, you can do that. A plane will be ready with 3 hours notice, on call.
You can't judge the downside of being ultra- wealthy by examining the hassles of a few of the worlds richest people who are also celebrities. Most of the super wealthy in the USA have minimal security needs and no armed guards.
The wealthy who stay wealthy do things like:
-not directly owning property
-no home mail delivery or listed address(es), little or no public profile
-socialize with your own circle (the schools kids go to, places you own seasonal homes)
It is easy to think the wealthy are either the person in the subdivision with a Mercedes and the biggest house or "the celebrity billionaire/publicity whore" Both are not accurate.
Life is flat out better for the wealthy who know how to live right. If you understand the greatest luxury is often privacy, the beauty of living in the most perfect climate during any/every season you choose to, well this is how many of the truly wealthy live.
Objectively speaking, eating corn flakes and rushing off to a cubicle job in a tin box car is just not as good as eating a bowl of fresh fruit salad, eating fresh home baked breads, freshly squeezed orange juice, on an outdoor patio overlooking a glorious sunrise and the most beautiful ocean you can imagine, then going for a pleasant jog on a private beach.
And if you want to go Skiing next weekend or tomorrow, or check in on business interests or investments, you can do that. A plane will be ready with 3 hours notice, on call.
Quote from stockstalkerv3:
Sounds like you haven't made the circle of "elite" yet. Oh, and I almost forgot, one very important distinction between a billionaire and Joe middle class:
All billionaires travel with a bunch of armed body guards wherever they go. They all fear for their lives. Look at Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, reknown politicians etc. Like prisoners and convicts, all drag their iron ball and chains (body guards) wherever they go. Not just them, but their children and family members too.
For the rich and famous, life becomes too "risky" without. You never know if someone might abduct your child for a few million dollars, or threaten your life for a few million.
That is the price one pays to be rich -- one surrenders ones "freedom" to a bunch of zeros in one's bank account. Can't be let alone. Always have to have one's back "watched".
Quote from 1prometheus:
Stockwalker does have a point, but he is overstating it.
He isn't just overstating it, he is misrepresenting it. He is not at all arguing that they can do the same things, but rather that they can accomplish the same basic purposes.
One example was flying in a jet. His point is that they both get from A to B with normally acceptable comfort. That is correct, but the difference is in reality there is a good chance the billionaire has a Net Jets contract. He doesn't have to worry about the purchase price, maintenance, etc.. that cause all the headaches. He then also doesn't have the security checks and showing up 2 hours before his flight. He rides in absolute comfort.
Also, he talks about billionaires all fearing for their lives and hiring bodyguards. But in reality only the top dozen or so fit that profile. Specifically the high-profile household name billionaires. But the vast majority of people couldn't pick most billionaires from a lineup. I really doubt that Ty Warner or John McMillan wake up in the morning and wonder how they are going to make it through the day alive. I bet they don't give a second thought to sending their kids off to school.
BTW, $80K annual is only about $65K after taxes, which isn't that much even in my low income state of UT. And we can't reasonably assume that the $80K is passive income, but rather that it is full time work. Meaning he probably gets about 15-20 vacation days a year. That kinda puts a hamper on keeping up with the billionaire vacation schedule.
Quote from 1prometheus:
Once again you have a point yet you are overstating it.
You can't judge the downside of being ultra- wealthy by examining the hassles of a few of the worlds richest people who are also celebrities. Most of the super wealthy in the USA have minimal security needs and no armed guards.
The wealthy who stay wealthy do things like:
-not directly owning property
-no home mail delivery or listed address(es), little or no public profile
-socialize with your own circle (the schools kids go to, places you own seasonal homes)
It is easy to think the wealthy are either the person in the subdivision with a Mercedes and the biggest house or "the celebrity billionaire/publicity whore" Both are not accurate.
Life is flat out better for the wealthy who know how to live right. If you understand the greatest luxury is often privacy, the beauty of living in the most perfect climate during any/every season you choose to, well this is how many of the truly wealthy live.
Objectively speaking, eating corn flakes and rushing off to a cubicle job in a tin box car is just not as good as eating a bowl of fresh fruit salad, eating fresh home baked breads, freshly squeezed orange juice, on an outdoor patio overlooking a glorious sunrise and the most beautiful ocean you can imagine, then going for a pleasant jog on a private beach.
And if you want to go Skiing next weekend or tomorrow, or check in on business interests or investments, you can do that. A plane will be ready with 3 hours notice, on call.
I wasn't talking about Joe middle class working in a cubicle. I was talking about Joe $2M net worth, earning a middle class investment income.
And, for Heaven's sake, what's wrong with Joe-middle-class-working-in-a-cubicle having home baked breaks and freshly squeezed orange juice after work?
Skiing whenever you want? Ever heard of delayed gratification?
With delayed gratification, there's absolutely nothing that the examples you have given can do that Joe-middle-class-investment-income can't do with his earnings.
Quote from stockstalkerv3:
I wasn't talking about Joe middle class working in a cubicle. I was talking about Joe $2M net worth, earning a middle class investment income.
And, for Heaven's sake, what's wrong with Joe-middle-class-working-in-a-cubicle having home baked breaks and freshly squeezed orange juice after work?
Skiing whenever you want? Ever heard of delayed gratification?
With delayed gratification, there's absolutely nothing that the examples you have given can do that Joe-middle-class-investment-income can't do with his earnings.
Alright, here is the main difference for you, timeline. Demonstrate to me how long it takes a person on a middle class income to get to where they are making $80K liquid in passive income. IOW, home appreciation doesn't count because you have to sell the home to access it. So they need at least $2MM in liquid investment. Do the math and figure out how long that takes.
Sure, I know plenty of people who have made it there on middle income and a 401K. They are all 60 years old and now can just barely afford to live like that. Heaven forbid they don't get a good return this year on their investments.
Quick calculations say that it takes the average person just over 40 years of tax free growth to get there. Which means they can't even start to live this lifestyle until they are about 65. Even then, they won't be able to live that way on risk free returns unless they have double that amount.
Any billionaire you can name probably hit that equivalent lifestyle before they were 40.
Any billionaire you can name probably hit that equivalent lifestyle before they were 40.